Tuesday, December 18, 2007

The downtown sinkhole has finally been filled, but another watermain break has occurred causing another sinkhole, this time at Oxford Road, west of Proudfoot Lane. In other news, representatives from Ambassador London, with the support of London's chief administrative officer Jeff Fielding, are asking for $940,000 over the next two years - sans a concrete business plan - to "sell" London to the world. Last night council gave them $30,000 of your taxpayer dollars. According to Coun. Cheryl Miller, it's okay to beg for money without justification if you are volunteering your time to begin with:

Ferguson and other volunteers have raised more than $100,000. And while they need to develop a focused business plan, council should support them in that, Fielding said.

[..] Coun. Cheryl Miller responded that Ferguson and sponsors of the Ambassador program shouldn't be expected to produce a business plan.

"The organizations that donated don't have time for business plans because they're all volunteers," Miller said.

Properly speaking, volunteers cease to become volunteers when their activities are funded by non-voluntary contributions from taxpayers.

You can't wish away reality and prudent people won't likely move to a city with yearly property tax hikes, increasing debt, crumbling infrastructure, low paying jobs and expensive arenas, unless there is an activist job awaiting them that is.

I have to disagree with one of the nameless who thinks that "leftist" sensationalism somehow makes that hole in the street less significant. If getting kicked in the groin makes a huge pain in the groin, and makes your eyes water, how is a watery eye taking away from getting kicked in the groin?

For the proles, I am asking how a completely neglected infrastructure is made less neglected because the most recent hole is smaller that the previous one?

The ambassador program will probably backfire. If you were getting paid like that, would you want others to come and maybe compete for your space at the trough? They'll keep their mouths shut! Hmmm, elaine, why don't you push for all "glowtards" to become ambassadors. That would shut them up!

Carol Stephenson, I'm afraid, has been in the civic buzzword club at least since she's been Dean. Check out her speeches… hardly a word about taxes and regulation, but plenty of cheerleading for "creative cities" and "diversity."

It would be embarrassing that she is the dean of a business school, but in fact she has perfectly captured the cringing, dependent operational strategy of professional business these days.

Yeah, shit happens, especially when the city spends taxpayer dollars on bread and circuses instead of essentials, like infrastructure upgrades for example.

Unlike global warming, which is far from settled science, it is a fact that London's infrastructure is old and of need of replacing. Watermains don't last forever, unless of course, they are blessed by Al Gore.

Chill out Lisa. You sound like a global warmer yourself. The pipes wear out. So do bridges and roads and sidewalks and hydro poles and in some cases; optimism and perspective.On going stuff like this is not a crisis. Be happy. Don't worry.

Chill out Lisa. You sound like a global warmer yourself. The pipes wear out. So do bridges and roads and sidewalks and hydro poles and in some cases; optimism and perspective.On going stuff like this is not a crisis. Be happy. Don't worry.

Infrastructure might fail, but like I pointed out in a comment above, such essential foundations do need replacing from time to time. Am I supposed to be happy that council here prefer to spend taxpayers dollars on entertainment and marketing instead of essentials? The don't worry, be happy attitude that rules this city is very much to blame for increased taxes and crumbling roads.

Talking about perspective....if I were in a union, and had one these idiots as my spokesperson, I would be calling for an election right away.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/2007/12/20/4733413-sun.html

Layoffs stalk factory jobs-lfp

Gems from people who insist on punishing business for providing well paying jobs. Imbeciles doing everything in their power to ensure business fold up and leave.*********************Liberal finance critic John McCallum said corporate tax cuts are one of the best strategies to attract investment and help manufacturers battered by the high Canadian dollar and the slumping market in the United States.

"Sweden, Denmark and Norway have used this strategy successfully and these are not right-wing countries," said McCallum at the meeting hosted by Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Local 27.

Local 27 chairperson Tim Carrie disagreed with McCallum, saying companies often roll corporate tax cuts into profits and do not reinvest in plants.

Richard Laverty, CAW chairperson for the Sterling Truck plant in St. Thomas, said broad corporate tax cuts would just enrich resource companies.

"We shouldn't be protecting the oil companies. They are making money hand over fist. Manufacturing is bleeding jobs all over the country."

*********************

Only a true imbecile, such as a union spokesperson, could not comprehend that business is in the business of making a profit.

Can you make it so that "Anonymous" comes out as "Asshat", so that readers know that the point being made is not really germaine to any one conversation?

Other than the fearmongering, and complete lunacy, with some mention of "flood waters" and "sewer" (which, by definition, FLOOD means the SEWER can't handle the water), how did city misspending on infrastructure become "chill, Lisa, you 'global warmer'"?

I'm just wondering, 'cause I missed that day in school, where (yet another, today) [sink]hole on Dundas due to water pouring into a vault was as a result of climate?

Everybody is an engineer now. Everybody is a scientist too. Gees!We have about 175 main breaks every year here in London and no matter how much money we put into this sort of thing it will still happen. A fact of life so will you all stop bitching like global warmers please?

We have about 175 main breaks every year here in London and no matter how much money we put into this sort of thing it will still happen. A fact of life so will you all stop bitching like global warmers please?

I don't normally respond to anonymous posts, simply because there isn't really anyone behind what is being said, however, in this case, I have to point out that 1000 water-main breaks in London ever year does not explain:

1. Why sewers are collapsing, even though every London resident or commercial servicee is paying to have them replaced, and yet, it isn't being done. At least, it is not being done in time.

2. Why no reporting on the matching 1000 sink-holes around the city. Obviously "anonymous" makes a point that water-main breaks are synonymous with sink-holes. Please give at least one link that shows that 175 sink-holes are showing up every year.

3. Why we should accept "Everyone else is doing it" as it was not an excuse I ever accepted from any of my children...so I cannot accept it from the PTB's, either. If Anne-Marie was on the TV, radio and in print saying, "London is average. Nothing special. We are just like everyone else", it would be somewhat expected. "London is awesome. Better than most places, since we are better than the worst. We are better than everyone else", well, maybe the Gateway, the Convention Centre, the proposed PAC should [have] all wait until the city puts its money where A-M's mouth is.